Firelight
by SilverShadow1711
Summary: "Put a drop of water on a hot stone, and it shatters." "It seems very poetic to me. It doesn't appreciate change." Ultimately, Gunther would not appreciate that she found it poetic. A fluffy, yet tragic Gunther/MU one-shot.


Title- Firelight

Rating- T

A/N- Aw, I saw an adorable prompt on tumblr and just had to write it. Here's kind of an alternate version of Nerr and Gunther's relationship in _The Rising Dark_. Just a short oneshot, set between chapters 23 and 24 of TRD.

000

 _"You have a lot of pretty do-dads in here." Nerr was rummaging through his saddle bag with the same curiosity she used to as a child when he returned from Windmire. She pulled out the odds and ends that he had honestly forgotten were still at the bottom of the ancient leather sack, organizing them into groups on the crate that served as her bedside table and and her pallet- no._ Their _pallet. That they shared now to everyone's knowledge. No longer was their budding relationship a shameful secret. Gunther smiled for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. Every time he remembered that, his stomach dipped, not out of fear and concern like usually, but with joy and excitement. Like the first time he had ridden a wyvern. Just a sense of pure, unadulterated happiness._

 _"I suppose I have an eye for pretty things. Why do you think I noticed you?" He responded to her easily. The princess paused in her meticulous categorizing, and glanced over her shoulder at him, her crimson eyes narrowed, though a smirk played out over her lips._

 _"Who do you think you are, flirting with me so boldly?"_

 _"I think I'm the luckiest man who ever existed." With a slight grunt of effort, he pushed himself off the crate he had been sitting on, sharpening his lance, and approached Nerr, wrapping his arms around her from behind and heaving her to her feet. The only thing stopping him from sweeping her into his arms was the stabbing pain radiating up his right arm, but even that was easily ignored in the wake of her ebullient laughter as she fell back against them. These were the moments he had come to miss the most over the last few years. The lighthearted, joyful moments they shared when he didn't have to worry about impropriety. It had been almost a decade since he had actually been able to relax in her presence, without fear of what her brother, the crown prince, might do to him. Nerr leaned her head back against his chest so that she was looking up at him._ _From this angle, he could see right up her nose. He still found it an adorable, flattering angle none the less._

 _"You are a silly, ridiculous man. What have you done with my stern, emotionless retainer, hmm?" Gunther leaned down, bending his neck so that he could kiss her. It was incredibly awkward- he could feel her forehead brushing against his throat, and he sincerely worried they might both fall over- but he didn't care one whit. Pulling away a bit, the old knight turned his young fiancée around to face him properly. If they had a hundred years together, he wouldn't get tired of looking at her._

 _"I think the better question, what did he do with me? I wasn't always so stern and emotionless, you know..."_

 _"I do_ not _know." Nerr smiled gently at him, though there was a hint of something almost forlorn in her eyes as she turned around once more and went back to her knickknacks. "I honestly cannot imagine you as anything but how I've known you to be. Every time I see you acting... different, it feels almost as though I'm looking at someone else." Gunther felt his happiness dim slightly as he looked down at her back._

 _"Do you... not like this someone else...?" She glanced back up at him, silent, her gaze scrutinizing. It was moments like that when her draconic nature shone through, and he could not shake the feeling of being prey._

 _"...of course I do, you old fool. I love you regardless of who you are, or how you act. It's just different. I've spent fifteen years getting to know the strict, proper, chivalrous knight side of you. I assume it's going to take me at least fifteen_ more _years to get to know this foolish, silver-tongued swain who keeps trying to sweep me off my feet."_

 _"I might run out of charm in fifteen years."_

 _"Then you can borrow some of mine. I am all things charming and intelligent and-" She broke off with a gasp as she found herself a new bauble. "Oooh! Pretty!"_ _Gunther quickly covered his mouth to stifle his laughter. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was laughing_ at _her; she was quick to anger over that. But the sight of simple, innocent wonderment within her again made his heart feel as though it would burst from love. The Nerr he had returned to from Valla was nothing like the blithe princess he had cared for in her tower. This was a hardened warrior who took lives with ease, who wore a brave face for the soldiers under her command, but was clearly fatigued from enduring so much sorrow and so many burdens in so short a span of time. He had honestly thought the part of her that was not yet jaded and weary of the world had died, so he cherished every hint of joy and excitement he bore witness to. Kneeling behind her (and cursing his stiff joints), the knight tried to see what had her so enamored this time. Nerr held in her palm a small chunk of a deep green_ _ore_ _, rough and_ _still set within the stone it had been carved from._

 _"_ _Gods, that must have been in there for years."_

 _"What is it?"_

 _"It's a piece of fluorite I got from the mines in Windmire ages ago. It can't be used for forging, so it's useless, but it's still rather beautiful to look at." The young princess held it up, turning it this way and that to try and catch the dim light in their tent. There were bands of purple streaked amongst the green._

 _"Why's it useless in forging?"_

 _"It doesn't play well with the_ _quenching process. Fluorite absorbs heat just fine- it's even used for making aluminum- but put a drop of cold water on a hot stone, and it shatters. Not an ideal property for something to be used in crafting a weapon." Nerr frowned slightly, looking from him to the stone then back again._

 _"It seems very poetic to me. It doesn't appreciate change. Once it get used to something, it would rather destroy itself than endure anything else. It's a stubborn stone."_

 _"I suppose you can relate." Gunther teased lightly, but she just smiled, refusing to give into his baiting._

 _"I can, actually. It's beautiful and hates change; I can think of worse things to have an affinity with." She carefully moved aside the other odds and ends on the crate, setting the stone at the forefront._

000

Gunther hoped no one paid him any mind as he made his way through the camp. It would not do for anyone to think he was off his rocker (he'd heard enough of _those_ rumors years back to last a lifetime). There wasn't anything particularly _wrong_ with a man smiling as he walked, but people were not used to seeing him show any emotion other than anger or annoyance. There were whispers buzzing about, but that was a normal enough thing, especially since their camp had more than doubled in size. The additional reinforcements the king of Nohr brought with him were a welcomed addition to their forces, especially considering they drew closer to the capital with each mile they marched. The knight frowned at the thought of King Garon. He had gone almost a decade without even laying eyes on the monster, and being so close to the object of his hatred now felt like being reintroduced to a drug one had long since weened them self off of. It was sickening, and he longed for the day this campaign was over so he could take Nerr someplace where they never had to see the evil monarch ever again. It had been beyond disconcerting when they walked into him while holding hands. After all, it had been so long since they'd been around anyone other than their fifty-odd member battalion that the habit had become ingrained in them, but when Garon paused mid-step, his eyes fixating on their entwined fingers, Gunther could not stop the blurry flashes of fire and devastation from playing out in his mind.

The king had said nothing, just continued on his way, but that did nothing to set him at ease. If anything, it made him worry more. Garon was known for making people suffer, and it was no secret to anyone who'd been alive more than two decades that the king reserved a special kind of hatred for him. Nerr, however, had assured him that everything was alright. She had asked Leo and Azura to speak to their father on her behalf, and he had said he didn't care what they did. That seemed too good to be true, but then again, so had the very notion of his beloved ladyship returning his affections. Gunther forced the annoying, dark thoughts from his mind. The sun was setting, casting the encampment in a bright golden glow.

The war council would be ending soon, and he figured Nerr could use some happy news herself to distance herself from whatever cruel things Iago had thought up this time. The whispers of the soldiers grew louder as he approached the tent where the royals and their generals discussed their plans. People were gathered around the tent, all of them looking at something that must have been quite the spectacle if it brought all semblance of normal life to a halt. Easing his way to the middle of the crowd, Gunther frowned deeply at the sight of his fiancée standing with Prince Xander and King Garon. Gods above, what slight had drawn his ire this time? Oddly enough, Nerr did not appear apologetic, or even upset. She looked... numb. As if she were in shock. The crown prince of Nohr standing beside her looked downright pleased. Garon's face looked as severe as ever, though there was definitely a hint of smug satisfaction in his voice as he addressed his subjects.

"Times of upheaval require stability and confidence to see us through them. Amidst the turmoil these damnable Hoshidans have put us through, it occurred to me that I have a greater duty to my people than securing the future of their prosperity; I must ensure the future of their monarchy. Which is why I am beyond pleased to announce the engagement of my son and heir, Prince Xander, to our own Princess Nerr. She may have Hoshidan blood, but her heart is devoutly Nohrian, and she has proven her love and loyalty to our grand kingdom time and again. I am certain she will make you, her people, proud." Applause resounded, but of the people gathered, only a few seemed to be genuinely happy (or at least, excited) to hear the news of the new engagement. Most of the soldiers exchanged confused, even dark looks as they half heartedly clapped a few times before breaking off from the crowd, undoubtedly to find a quieter place to talk about what they had just witnessed.

Gunther remained where he was, letting the crowd jostle him, unable to make himself move in either direction. _This_ was Garon's plan? Why not just execute him like he did with everyone else? It was so wrong, so unexpected, that he could barely wrap his mind around it. The sight of Xander's wide grin as he spoke to his sister (she was his _sister!_ ) filled him with with fury and disgust. He had thought that perhaps the prince wasn't as petty as that, but considering who his father was, it was hardly surprising he'd be as cruel and depraved as the man who sired him. Xander's feelings for his adopted sister was perhaps one of the worst contained secrets in Krakenburg. Indeed, the only person who never seemed to actually notice them was Nerr herself. He could only imagine the shock and revulsion _she_ was experiencing at the moment. No. This... this could not be real. This was some kind of trick, and she was just playing along with it; she had become such a good actress that she even managed to fool him on occasion. He just needed to speak with her. Alone. Somewhere he didn't have to see _either_ of those loathsome royals...

000

Nerr drifted about the camp like a ghost. Gunther couldn't make heads or tails of where she was headed. It seemed she wasn't actually headed anywhere; she would just walk to one corner, pause for a bit, then wander away in a daze. The gossip was spreading like wildfire, until the only thing on anyone's lips was their prince's new fiancée. The knight ignored the chattering soldiers; it was the only way he could keep from breaking something in his anger. He waited for almost an hour until Nerr finally wandered over to where he was hiding. Without a word of warning or explanation, the knight grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the weapons tent beside which he had been waiting. The fact that she didn't immediately reach for her sword was telling of just how shell shocked she was; Gunther had found the tip of that blade pressed to his throat just from entering their tent past what she deemed an acceptable hour.

"Nerr." The princess remained still, looking somewhere over his hip and paying him no mind. "Nerr! Look at me! This isn't true is it, what Garon said...? No, it can't be. Please tell me this is some sort of ploy you've cooked up to earn your way into his favor; you can't actually _accept_ this, can you!?" Still, she said nothing, blinking slowly and methodically. He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a rough shake, wincing mentally as her head snapped back and forth. That was going to give her a headache, and at any other time, he would have been on his knees apologizing, but at that moment he could think of nothing more than getting an answer from her. "Nerr! Answer me, dammit!"

"I hardly think that's the tone you should be taking with your princess and future queen, Sir Gunther..." The knight felt his blood run cold, and slowly turned to look at who had the audacity to speak such words to him, never relinquishing his grip on the girl's shoulders. Xander stood in the entrance of the tent, his arms crossed over his chest, a displeased frown marring his handsome face.

"...how I speak to my fiancée is none of your concern."

"But it is. Because regardless of whether or not you choose to accept it, Nerr is _my_ fiancée now." He took several quick, purposeful strides over to where the couple stood, standing beside Nerr and placing his hand on her shoulder, attempting to draw her back towards himself but failing as Gunther made no effort to release her. The young girl allowed herself to be jerked to and fro like a toy being fought over. "I'd advise you to readjust your attitude, lest you bring the wrath of the royal family on your head. You are in no position to manhandle-"

"She's my betrothed!"

" _Was._ " Xander sneered coldly. "However, as a princess of Nohr, the king is the one who ultimately decides who she can, and can _not_ , marry. He has decided that the best candidate for her husband is myself."

"You're her _brother!"_ Gunther spat, unable to keep the disgust from his voice. Why wasn't Nerr saying anything?

"There is no shared blood between us. She is my sister in name only, and that is all that matters in terms of marriage."

"She doesn't _love_ you." The prince visibly flinched at that snarled whisper. There was the thorn in his side, the one fact he could not brush off. His violet eyes grazed over the delicate form still rooted in front of him.

"...she can learn to. It will take time for her to learn to see me not as her brother, but as a man... but I have all the time in the world for my little queen." Reaching out with his other hand, Xander gently brushed a few strands of her long teal ponytail from her shoulder. Nerr visibly flinched at his touch, arching away from him. The blonde man frowned, clearly hurt by her rejection, but the darkness in his eyes quickly turned to anger as he looked back up at Gunther. "Your presence is in no way helping her with this transition. From this point on, you are not to be alone with Nerr. In fact, I believe your services as her retainer are no longer needed."

"Oh, go choke on a dick like your father used to, princeling!" The words were past his lips before he even realized he was saying them, but while Xander reeled at being spoken to like that, Gunther dropped to his knees, taking both of Nerr's hands into his own as he tried to look into her eyes, a task made all the more difficult as she looked everywhere _but_ at him. "Nerr! Please, talk to me! If this is... if you want this, then just _tell_ me! I need to hear it from you; please, my darling-!" Pain exploded in his face as something hard met with his mouth, cutting his lip close to where the scar given to him by Garon's soldiers already disfigured the flesh there. The older man looked up resentfully at Xander, who's hand was still raised. The prince glared down at him, with a cold, seething hatred that could only be rivaled by his father.

"Speak that way about my father, your _king_ , again, and you'll lose that tongue. I honestly expected more sense from you, Sir Gunther. You couldn't be stupid enough to think that anyone would actually accept a princess marrying a _peasant_. You were a passing interest, nothing more. You have your orders, soldier; you'd best heed them." Gunther remained where he was, alternating between glaring at the prince and wishing him dead, and gazing up longingly, desperately, at his little ladyship. She turned her head away from him, her expression never changing, those rhythmic blinks the closest to communication he could get from her. When the gauntlet clad hand came down a second time, he intercepted it, grabbing the ebony steel in his left hand without even looking towards it. Slowly, he got to his feet, gripping the greave tighter as Xander tried to pull his hand back.

"She will never, _ever_ love you the way she loves me, _my liege_." Gunther quickly release the younger man's wrist, turning on his heel and storming from the tent. The tears building in his eyes all but completely obscured his vision, making it impossible to see where he was going, but he didn't care. He would not let that demon see his weakness. Only Nerr had ever been allowed to see him at moments like this, and seemed that she was lost to him now. Of course Garon would not punish him with something as simple as execution; the king wanted him to suffer and he had found the perfect way to do it.

000

The night grew darker and darker as the sun dipped further beyond the horizon. Night in Hoshido could never compare to the complete black of night in Nohr, but it was dark enough for the few campfires still burning to glow even brighter than they usually did. Most of the soldiers were asleep, the only people still left outside their tents being the sentries. And Gunther. He sat in front of one of the fires, watching the flames dance. He wasn't even sure where to return to if he wanted to sleep, which he did not. It had been almost a month since he'd actually set up his own tent. He could have just gone back to the tent he had, until that day, shared with Nerr. After all, she was sleeping in Prince Xander's tent now; he had been adamant that she move in with him at once. The princess did not even bother getting any of her belongings, simply stepping in the the crown prince's makeshift home. Everything was exactly the way she had left it that morning, which was part of the reason Gunther could not bring himself to set foot inside it; it was a painful reminder of the time they had been happy and in love... How could it have only been a few hours ago? How could everything fall apart _that_ quickly? Slowly, the knight reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out what he had been so eager to show Nerr before everything had gone to hell. A small ring sat in his palm, his large hand making the tiny golden band appear even smaller.

Only a few weeks ago, they had discussed the subject of engagement rings. Well, _he_ had discussed it; his tiny beloved had been adamant that she had no use for such a thing, but it still made him feel horribly guilty that he couldn't at least provide _that_ for her. So he had set about remedying that problem. The ring was incredibly simple, nothing that would even probably be sold outside of a peasant's stall in a bazaar. A thick piece of gold wire looped into a circle, the filed ends holding a small chunk of a rough, green and purple stone. It wasn't much, it was barely anything, but it was _something_ , _some_ physical indicator of their love. Drops of salty water splashed onto his palm, and Gunther closed his hand around the piddly trinket, unwilling to look at it anymore. Disgusted with both it and himself, he flung it into the fire. The tiny speck of green glowed amidst the brilliant orange flames. Xander was right; he _should have_ known better than to ever think for even a moment that the fanciful events of children's fairytales could ever occur in real life. He probably would've remained where he was, lamenting his foolishness and misery until he keeled over, had a loud explosion not almost given him a heart attack. Instinctively, his head turned in the direction of the sound, just in time to see a massive pillar of elder magic launch itself into the sky. The dark violet flames were bright against the dull backdrop of night, and they seemed to be both engulfing everything around them as well as tossing everything away. Tents and supplies scattered as a harsh wind blew through the camp. Gunther raised his arm to shield his eyes from the flying detritus, even as the gust wafted the scent of smoke over him. His heart stopped.

That had come from the area of Prince Xander's tent. He could care less if anything happened to the miserable piece of shit heir, but Nerr was there as well. Trying to force his breathing to even itself, the knight tore off in direction of the blast. He was hardly alone- the sound had awoke the rest of the soldiers, who had armed themselves, rightfully assuming they were under attack. Some of them went to work putting out the flames that threatened to destroy their supplies, but most were too busy staring at the scene before them. A row of tents had been burned away completely, leaving only ash that added to the scorch marks surrounding a massive crater. Three bodies lay in the center of the destruction, the bodies of two completely blackened as their skin had been charred, leaving them only identifiable by their armor, which still glowed red in places. One of Xander's arms was locked in place over his eyes, probably trying to shield himself from the blinding light, while the other was stretched out in front of him. Garon's body was supported by his Bölverk ax, the massive, serrated head still lodged deep within the earth between two halves of what had once been a whole body. The only body not burnt beyond recognition. Nerr's lower half remained fully draconic, but her torso was slowly beginning to revert back to a human form once more, dark navy skin easing back to a pallid peach as the horns and wings retracted back into her little by little.

The soldiers flew into a panic, wailing over the loss of their leaders, trying to figure out what had happened and if there was still a threat to them. Gunther slowly stepped back from the carnage. There was no threat. Not any more. He had seen similar bursts of light and magic when he saw Nerr transform on the battlefield, but never anything that intense and... violent. She had warned him once that sometimes, strong emotions caused her to transform without any conscious thought, and that despite her dragonstone existing for the sake of containing her destructive power, sometimes it just didn't. He took several more steps back, before turning and walking back to his place by the campfire. People ran around him, trying to help those injured in the blast or else, just spreading news of what had happened to those who had not yet seen it themselves. There was a bucket of water beside the campfire, left there for the last person to leave it so that they could put it out. The last thing they needed was for a stray ember to burn down their entire camp. Gunther grabbed it and dumped it's contents over the already sputtering flames. As the water met the embers, there was a hiss and a loud crack. The ring lay amidst the soggy ashes, the fluorite that had been set within it now in dozens of tiny pieces, bright flecks amidst the ugly mess. It would rather destroy itself than endure anything else. That wasn't poetry; it was a weakness. That was why it wasn't used in forging.

000

A/N- Yay! I actually did a kind of short oneshot! So, the prompt for this happy piece comes courtesy of imagine-your-ocs-otps on tumblr, and it was basically "Person A wants to propose to Person B, but something happens that leaves them unable to, so Person A just sits alone looking at the ring they had gotten for the occasion". I don't know why I just can't let Gunther and Nerr have a happy relationship- I'm always trying to sabotage them! The idea for the fluorite ring actually came from one of my favorite chapters of _Franken Fran_ entitled simply "Fluorite", and if you've read it, you'll know why I just had to use it (not to mention fluorite commonly appears as a dark green stone with purple in it, so it's perfect for Gunerr). I did a little research for this, and yes, fluorite IS used for making aluminum, and yes, it WILL crack, if not completely shatter, if you expose it to extreme temperatures, just like glass. I _was_ going to call this fic "Firefly" since the kanji for fluorite in Japanese is the same kanji for firefly, but I like this title juuuust a little more.


End file.
